Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-04-04
SALVATIONlSTS N A RIOT
SEVEN OF THE ARMY ARREST
ED AT FORD>' HALL.

hurried upon the hebuk OF the NTnNp
Struggling on the Stairwsy-The Sal
vationists Powerless Against the Mob
Frightened " omen Fiji the Air With
Screams--W What the Police DID.
The Salvation Army's meeting at the
Fords' Hall last night broke up in gen.
eral free fight and riot that would have
dlsgraced a convention OF sand lot hood
lums. On no night since the Army has
been in Savannah has it had larger au-
dience. Numbers OF highly respectable
people. men and women, had gone through
curiosity or interest in the Meeting, and
the hall was damned to Its utmost ca
pacity.
just before the services were to begin
the band started playing sacred tune.
An immense crowd collected outside.
After two or three tunes had been rem
dered Sergt. Lee and policeman Dun
ham marched up the steps and arrested
seven of the soldiers who were playing.
They were Maj. White, Capt. Rem bert,
Capt. Renney, Capt. Ii DEL, Lieuts. Paine,
Husband and Bingeman. They made no
attempt at resistance and went quietly
along with the officers.
CROWD OF ToUGHs.
A glance over the spectators showed
any one at all familiar with Savannah
audiences that the tough element was
present in force and was ready for any sort
of devilment that might spring up. They
cbatted the Salvationists at their arrest.
By 8 O'Clock the spiritually minded
were deeply eutbused and the meeting was
progressing with encouraging success.
All at once man was seen TO rise up
near the head of the stairs, stride quickly
four or five PAGES, snatch up chair and
in an instant he had dashed it down on C
mans head. AS quickly as flash OF
lightning would fire the whole of a pow
der magazine the assault started a free
fight. Instantly the meeting was con-
vert6d into scene OF uprOar and confu-
sion.
sPRANG TO THEIR FEET.
The entire audience sprang to their feet
10 see what the excitement was. IL was
toe rot ghs' opportunity, and in a moment
they had possession of the meeting.
Chairs were grabbed up and used with a
vengeance,
Whether or not those who joined In the
row were friends of the two parties who
first started it is not known. The original
cause was an insulting remark made to
woman, but the hOodlums did not care
what the fight started about. When one
was hit he struck somebody else, and
so IN ten seconds chairs and fists were
flying through the air in the lIvelleSt kind
of style. Billies, knives and pistols were
jerked out and fourished thresteningly.
A colored man who was hit with a chair
raised it to haul back at the man he
thought threw it., when he was cracked
on the Lose with a billy. Ladies and
children screamed, and rushed for the
stage in the east end OF the hall. AS many
as could got up on the stage completely
uDnerved.
The respectable citizens VINO were
present tried to address the excited moi,
but the fighters would listen to nothing.
TRIED TO oUELL THE RIOT.
Col. Light, who has charge OF this sta
zion, and Lieut.. Moore were the only
male Salvati0nists who were at the meet
ing. all the others having been locked w
y ut the barracks. Tnree of the female sol.
o fliers, Capt. Wright, Mrs. Maj. White and
Lieut.. COrbin moved about among the
ladies and urged them to keep calm.
Lieut.. Moore was posted at the
head of the stairs to keep the crowd from
the outside rushing up. Col. Light sent
messenger for policeman. The man
who was first struck made dash for the
stairway and some one hurled a chair at
him. 1t struck him on the back and
struck Lieut.. Moore on the arms. Some
youths broke eXcitedly down the steps in
a rum The toughs mallciously threw
chairs down on the heads of the escaping
crowd, and several were painfully hurt,
though no one seriously. Frank Hit,
scene shifter at the Theatre, had his nose
broken, and John II. Alleoud, O news
paper pressman, was badly cut about the
head.
THE TOUGHS IN POSSESSION.
Meanwhile the fight spread. The law
respecting spectators denounced the riot
rs disgraceiul, but no one dared inter-
fere, for the fighting element was too
strong. All that the respectable men
could do was to stand between the fright
ened women and the mob. 1t seemed to
he an hour to the women before police
man arrived. No officer was on duty
at the hail and the MOB
fought tor fifteen minutes without inter-
Z ffrence. Finally Policemen Durham and
e eightbody and Burglar Alarm Officer
Tobhar ran up the stairs together, They
Rgan to clear the hall, and tie mob
living fought until tired quitand went
"a pwn the steps. The party who started
e fight was arrested, bit was released
r. the foot OF the stairs. No other arrests
Xere made.
h ESCAPED WITH BRUISES.
With the exception of a dozen broken
Noses and cracked heads no serious in
luries were sustained. The screams had
attracted a big crowd in front of the
building and the excitement was intense.
Everybcdy denounced the affair as the
1uOsC NisBIhCelul buluk vi bn6 hIuO ever
seeE in Savannah, and the police authori-
ties were r0undly criticised for not hav-
lag an officer at the hall, as they are de-
tailed TO preserve orcer in the neighbor-
hood of churches.
STORY OF A SPECTATOR.
young man who was standing near
the head OF the stairway when the riot
said:
N EA$ III hadn't been in the hall two minutes
BEN / saw there was going to De trouble
Rough crowd had gone there bent upon
schief. i think, however, that the i'm
ediate cause of the riot was q fuss
bich took place between two men near
ere / was standing. One of the men
~ a woman with him. The other man
fehned over to her and said: what are
you doing here@ He had hardly uttered
the words before the first man struck him
on the head. Then the friends OF the two
men joined in, and in less time than it
takes to tell chairs were flying about and
good many knives and pistols were
drawn. l saw one young fellow draw
pistol and threaten TO Kill any body that
got in his way. He had his sister with
him and was trying to get out. Two or
three men were pretty badly hurt. Not a
single policeman was present, and none